Important: Azure AD Graph Retirement and Powershell Module Deprecation

In 2019, we announced deprecation of the Azure AD Graph service. One year ago we communicated that Azure AD Graph will be retired and stop functioning after June 30, 2023. We also previously communicated that three legacy PowerShell modules (Azure AD, Azure AD Preview, and MS Online) would be deprecated on June 30, 2023.  

We want to provide an update on timelines for these changes and offer further clarity on what to expect going forward. No new investment is going into Azure AD Graph and the three PowerShell modules, making it very important that all customers prioritize migration to Microsoft Graph APIs and Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK to ensure continued support and functionality.   

However, we understand that many customers are not yet complete with these migrations and we confirm our continued commitment to work with our customers during this migration period to minimize and avoid impact.  

Azure AD Graph Updates: 

• No changes will be made to Azure AD Graph availability on June 30, 2023, and no applications using Azure AD Graph will be impacted on this date.  
• June 30, 2023 marks the completion of a 3-year notice period for deprecation of Azure AD Graph. We will now enter the retirement cycle for Azure AD Graph APIs.  
• We will make no further investment in Azure AD Graph, and Azure AD Graph APIs have no SLA or maintenance commitment beyond security-related fixes. 
• We will retire Azure AD Graph in incremental steps, with the intention of allowing sufficient time for migration of applications to Microsoft Graph APIs. The first step will involve blocking newly created applications from using Azure AD Graph APIs. We will clarify the date for this first step in a future update, with three (3) months of advance notice.  
• We will provide regular updates on the steps for this retirement cycle with further details on what to expect and required actions.  

PowerShell Module Updates: 

• As previously communicated, the legacy licensing assignment PowerShell cmdlets (Set-AzureADUserLicense, Set-MsolUserLicense, -LicenseAssignment or -LicenseOptions parameters of New-MsolUser) and Azure AD Graph API (assignLicense) are retired. For customers who were provided an extension for these cmdlets and API, migrations to Microsoft Graph licensing APIs/PowerShell must be completed by September 30, 2023. 
• We recognize that the legacy PowerShell modules are required for some scenarios not yet available in Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK. Therefore, we are postponing the deprecation date for MS Online, AzureAD, and AzureAD Preview PowerShell modules to March 30, 2024.  

What happens to applications using Azure AD Graph on June 30, 2023? 

There will be no impact to applications using Azure AD Graph at the June 30, 2023 milestone. Applications will continue to function, but Azure AD Graph APIs do not have SLA or maintenance commitments beyond security-related fixes. We will provide a near future update to clarify the timeline and details of our first step of retirement – blocking newly created applications from using Azure AD Graph.  

What happens to PowerShell scripts using Azure AD, Azure AD-Preview, or MS Online modules on June 30, 2023? 

There will be no impact to PowerShell scripts using these legacy modules on or after June 30, 2023. They will continue to function and be supported until deprecation announcement.  

What happens to PowerShell scripts using Azure AD, Azure AD-Preview, or MS Online modules after March 30, 2024? 

We plan to deprecate Azure AD, Azure AD-Preview, and MS Online PowerShell modules on March 30, 2024. After this date, the only support offered for these PowerShell modules will be support in migrating to Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK. Only security fixes will be offered for these PowerShell modules after deprecation is announced. Once these modules are deprecated, they will continue to work for a minimum of six (6) months before being retired.  

We are committed to working with our customers to enable smooth migration to the Microsoft Graph platform. We will provide further communication, updates on tools to help these migrations, and clarifying information regularly throughout this process.  

Current support for Azure AD Graph and legacy PowerShell modules:

• Azure AD Graph is currently deprecated and will be supported with only security-related fixes. 
• Azure AD, Azure AD Preview, and MS Online PowerShell modules are not yet deprecated. These modules are supported, but no new feature capabilities are being added to them.  

Required Actions 

1. Identify and migrate applications that are using Azure AD Graph to use equivalent Microsoft Graph APIs. Microsoft Graph is a feature rich API platform that provides a unified API surface for many Microsoft services, including Microsoft Entra, Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, and the full Microsoft 365 portfolio.  
Reference: Migrate from Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Graph to Microsoft Graph 

2. Identify and update PowerShell scripts that use the legacy modules to use the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK.  
Reference: Migrate from Azure AD PowerShell to Microsoft Graph PowerShell.  

Available tools:

• PowerShell Cmdlet mapping to Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK 
• Microsoft Graph PowerShell Compatibility Adapter 
• Azure AD Graph app migration planning checklist 
• Script to identify Apps that might be using Azure AD Graph 

Learn more about Microsoft Entra: 

• See recent Microsoft Entra blogs 
• Dive into Microsoft Entra technical documentation 
• Join the conversation on the Microsoft Entra discussion space and Twitter 
• Learn more about Microsoft Security